Samoa beat New Zealand in dramatic Vegas Sevens final

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Samoa beat New Zealand 26-19 in a dramatic USA Sevens Final in Las Vegas, claiming their first tournament win of the season. Today we’ve got highlights for you from every day of the tournament, with some of the best tries, as well as some great tackles.

New Zealand aimed to pick up their third series win in a row but were undone by the mighty Alafoti Faosiliva with time up as the sides were tied 19-19. The huge man scored twice, with his second proving to be the winner for the Samoans, who had a huge amount of support in Vegas.

“It has been a long time and these boys have been working so hard, and I couldn’t stop a tear or two rolling down my cheeks,” said Samoa’s coach Stephen Betham. “The boys really deserve it and they owe it to the people back home and the fans here in Vegas. It has been a long time since our last Cup victory,” he added, referring to their last series win back in December 2010.

They have moved up to fifth spot on the overall standings, while New Zealand’s final placing puts them five points clear of Fiji at the top, on 92 points.

“Samoa deserved it, they came at us. We had a chance to win it, but it’s the team that makes the least errors that wins,” said New Zealand captain DJ Forbes. “But still disappointing, you have to be hurting getting that far and tripping up, but Samoa played well.”

South Africa and Fiji met for the third place playoff and it was the Fijians that won the game 21-15. Kenya won the Plate after beating Argentina 21-7, while Canada beat Australia 19-17 for the Bowl.

Below are highlights from throughout the tournament, including the final, in three short videos

9 Comments

The final was quite thrilling. Just as you think NZ were done, they come back from the dead. But Samoa #1 is a beast and cant be stopped.
Well done.

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reality

12:47:34 14/02/2012

Big man Ronan O'Gara did it to Chris Paterson last year in the Six Nations. Although I think to compare Faosaliva and O'Gara would be to compare apples with oranges, or more appropriately in this case, apples with small, weak players.

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uhtiger

11:54:04 13/02/2012

Filo Tiatia did it a while back in one of the northern hemisphere games.

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rich_w

10:53:16 13/02/2012

That moment around the minute mark is outrageous. Although I don't think he ever had any intention of clotheslining him. It almost looks like he just didn't want to tackle the big bloke so jumped out of the way, with a token swinging arm to make it look like he attempted the tackle. A trademark French half-back.
Whatever he was thinking, this combined with the ref abuse. The guy is a prize muppet.
Also those hits in Fiji v Samoa are enormous!!

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sankeor

07:13:24 13/02/2012

I assume they don't use instant replays for refeering, do they ?

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04:23:57 13/02/2012

Faosaliva, what a monster, having the confidence to thump a defender inside the goal area. I vaguely remember seeing someone doing that in XVs, cant remember who. Also, how about Ngera? Rockets in his boots.
I love how anything can happen in sevens. The 6th placed side winning a major tournament, minnow sides (like my Portugal) beating established powers... Everyone has a shot in 7s, you just have to want it bad enough

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stroudos

03:03:59 13/02/2012

Vid 3-
0:53- Moonwalk!
1:28 & 1:32 - Bosh. Two very strong candidates in quick succession for that long-overdue try-savers & rib-breakers update!! That second one is the type of tackle that should only be visited on a fellow Pacific Islander - I reckon players of most other genetic pools would have been literally sliced in half by that!

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stroudos

02:51:48 13/02/2012

Onto video 2 - France #4 is at it again! Who the f*** is this bloke and what on Earth is he doing on a rugby pitch? Check out the replay of SA try around 1:04 - there's France #4 completely beaten and trying to cynically clothesline the scorer. This guy needs to find a different sport to play - and a new hairdresser too...
1:48 - unbelievably poor defence by England!
2:35 - bosh- sit down. Bit unnecessary, but amusing!

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stroudos

02:40:59 13/02/2012

Couple of comments on Video 1/Day 1:
1:50 Who the hell does France #4 think he's talking to? Should've been yellow-carded for that sort of ref abuse. No idea what he said - looked like he was claiming he held the ball up(?), well if he did I reckon that's offset by the fact he tackled the Wales player by his neck.
1:58 - jesus, how quick is that Kenyan?!?